This is a quick post for my presentation slide and demos at SharePoint Pro Singapore User Group Meeting last week. I discussed about configuration on SharePoint box to make it Silverlight enabled, and also giving some demos to write Silverlight video player then deploy it to SharePoint.

The PPT and demos are available for download from my Skydrive. Enjoy!

Posted by mca | No Comments »

I did a posting about DotnetU last year, a program where I taught at Teched SEA 2007. I just know that there is a new material under DotnetU umbrella: SharePoint Development. Thanks to Dougturn who spread this program around the world.

The SharePoint content is very suitable for somebody new in MOSS development. Covering the installation, new feature, and web part programming. But I think Doug should add one more hot topic in SharePoint: custom workflow with VS2005/2008. I’m willing to help him to write the lab manual, since I’ve been developing and teaching in this area almost one year.

Just received message from Doug that the cool DotnetU will come again to Teched SEA 2008 next August. Hopefully he’s right, lots of cool stuff in Silverlight and Ajax can be explored. It’s free, fun, with a nice certificate and T-Shirt :). I’m the supporter the SharePoint related material for dotnetu. Hope he will bring it to KL. SharePoint has abig growth here in Singapore, and I think is the same in Malaysia. MOSS workflow is a very hot - hot topics now.

Posted by mca | No Comments »

One of the FAQ that I received when teaching SharePoint Development class was: What’s the best book on SharePoint development? Well, It can be easy and difficult at once. SharePoint is a very huge product with tons of feature inside. Every book has their own approach, and some of them only cover specific topics in development. SharePoint can be used for content management, record management, BI dashboard, business process automation, workflow, and so on. Finally, there is no single book that able to cover all of those features.

I red some SharePoint development books, and here are the quick reviews on it. Take it as a consideration, not the recommendation. Here are the lists:

1. Building Office 2007 Solutions in C# 2005 (Apress), written by SharePoint MVP Scott Hiller. This is the book if you are novice in SharePoint. Doing development in it requires fundamental knowledge on SharePoint Out of the Box. Some students want to jump directly, but ended with confusion.  Almost half of this book covers fundamental SharePoint concept. The rest of the chapters explore the development features in SharePoint such as web part, custom master page, BI, etc. The technical coverage is not so deep, so it’s a good start for somebody new in the topic. It covers almost every aspects of SharePoint development.
2. Microsoft.SharePoint.2007.Development.Unleashed  (SAMS), written by Kevin Hoffman and Robert Foster. This is definitely not for SharePoint novice. The first chapter starts directly with SharePoint Object Model! The authors made a good job on API and custom web part coverage. If you are looking for a deep exploration of every API classes, this is the best book I’ve red.
3. Pro SharePoint Solution Development (Apress), by Ed Hild and Susie Adams. This is also not for novice. It gives very good exploration on how all of those Microsoft Office products work together with SharePoint. The idea is how to utilize the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook (oh, of course 2007 version) as a client tools and connect to SharePoint as a portal. I like to read chapter 14 about custom workflow. Really shows the power of WF, InfoPath, Visual Studio and SharePoint.
4. Workflow in 2007 Office System (Apress) by David Mann
   The book is specializing in Sharepoint Workflow. This is definitely the best book in the subject, maybe because it’s the only one that available now :). It covers everything about developing workflow in SharePoint 2007. Starting with Out of the Box workflow, SharePoint Designer, and custom workflow with Visual Studio 2005. Another good point is there are some chapters on Windows Workflow Foundation itself. All scenario in workflow implementation are covered, even how to create .aspx page as a workflow form inside SharePoint.
5. This book is still in printing out now, but and I’m sure it’s the best book in SharePoint content management. Written by SharePoint MVP Andrew Connell, he’s finally made the book happen. I’m waiting the one available here in Singapore in couple of month The book is already available in Singapore, check it at Compbook Funan mall. Read his announcement here and review the table of contents.
6. Real World SharePoint 2007 (a.k.a SharePoint MVP books). I haven’t read this book, but the title and the authors look promising. I skimmed the book in the bookshop several months back, and looks very in depth on every topics. It’s a level 300-400 book, for both developer and administrator. There are a lot of tips and real world tricks inside. Hopefully I can pick one copy and start reading.

Posted by mca | 1 Comment »